By Doug Tarry Custom Homes & SportsXpress
Photos by Al Bod and Suzie Dennis
When Doug Tarry Sr. started Doug Tarry Custom Homes in 1954, part of his vision for the community of St. Thomas included excellent family neighbourhoods, with excellent facilities for those families to use.
It just so happened that the City of St. Thomas was also in need of a new sports facility for the area’s growing sports community, so it seemed like a perfect fit. Unfortunately, Doug Tarry Sr. passed on before the completion of an incredible five-diamond Ballpark facility on land which was originally part of the Doug Tarry Mill Creek development.
In 1994, Greg Tarry, current President of Doug Tarry Custom Homes Ltd, was thrilled and honoured when then-Mayor Steve Peters approached him to ask if they could name the facility in honour of Doug Tarry Sr. It was then that the Douglas J. Tarry Sports Complex was born.
The Complex has been a fixture in the baseball community ever since, with the St. Thomas Minor Baseball group hosting several tournaments there each season. The five fully-illuminated ball diamonds, field house, food services, and picnic area are a fixture in the St. Thomas sports community throughout the warmer months.
Doug Tarry Custom Homes continues to support the community in their 60th year, as they recently announced the start of construction on a 60th Anniversary Legacy Build. The build is a fundraiser in which the proceeds from the sale of the home will go toward the construction of a culvert crossing of Mill Creek and an upgrade of the adjoining Angus McKenzie Trail to a 3-meter Multi Use Trail.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity this project will bring to the health and wellbeing for the residents of St Thomas,” said Greg Tarry. “This is the first step in connecting the St. Thomas Railway 3-meter trail in the west through Lake Margaret to the Orchard Park South trail in the east. When all the trails are completed, it will be over 6 km long from one end to the other with connections to the Pinafore Park trails adding to this. This fundraising house build is critical to the financial success of the project.”
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